I think the tax changes have all but killed it off.Stamp Duty 3% more, and reduced tax allowances.That said a 2 bed semi in West Sussex is advertised at £1,000 a month!£12,000 a year on a low interest rate mortgage say 3% with prices going up 5% is still a decent yield if you can be bothered dealing with tenants and repairing the damage they leave.

We moved into a new-build 3 bed house last February - constructed by a smallish developer (RAA Developments).

Various snagging matters on moving in were highlighted and some shortly after (tiles in bathroom becoming uneven, raised, grouting coming away).

More seriously, the electrics are illegal despite an NIC certificate. An independent electrician brought round by the construction director said that the wires in the kitchen were too thin and would, in time, melt. It was then discovered that most of the wiring in the house is incorrect.

The carpet has no underlay (admittedly I should have spotted this prior to moving in) and the developers agreed to pay half the cost of new carpets which was agreed. However, the original carpets gave been stuck down with F44 industrial strength glue.

The developers were going to sort all the above matters out until I received an email saying could they pay me £5,000 to get everything done myself.

Your only hope is top show that these are the wrong bricks for the exposure in your area.It is called spalling and is caused by freeze thaw action.That said the bricks should be to 9n/mm2 and to BS EN771 classified for F2/S" or F2/S1 against freezing.

Check your brick type against the manufacturer's literature online.Write to the housebuilder and get it on record as you only have a year left to get this on record.

This is a structural issue so should be covered by the warranty.Secondly, Barratt had a five year warranty of their own I seem to remember.Lastly, as the problem of rotting timber and this retaining wall was reported (I hope in writing) to Barratt but never fixed, it is still covered by the NHBC warranty.

I think both you and your neighbour should make a joint claim to the NHBC and tell them it needs to be permanently resolved with a new warranty for the new wall. The fact that the contractor that installed the wall is now no longer trading is not an issue.

Any timber in contact with the ground must be treated timber. Crib lock timbers should really have been in green oak or maybe it should have been concrete!

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